1. Field of the Invention
Exemplary aspects of the present invention relate to the locking and releasing of a recliner mechanism and a slide mechanism of a vehicle seat and in particular to electrically actuating the release of these mechanisms.
2. Description of the Related Art
Seats of a vehicle such as an automobile may be provided with a reclining mechanism that allows the seat back to pivot at a base portion thereof. This reclining mechanism may have several defined positions including: a neutral position, an upright position, a rear most position, and a front most position.
Seat of a vehicle such as an automobile may also be provided with a sliding mechanism that allows the seat to travel in the fore-aft direction of the vehicle. This sliding movement allows the seat occupant to find the optimal seat location. For example, the occupant may be a driver of the vehicle and the sliding mechanism is used to insure the drive is adequately placed to reach all of the vehicle controls.
Both the reclining mechanism and the sliding mechanism may be operated using individual manual levers, typically located on the vehicle seat. Also the reclining mechanism and the sliding mechanism may be replaced by an actuator that performs the sliding and reclining functions without additional effort from the user. Seats equipped with these features are typically called power seats or power assisted seats.
The actuators above provide convenience and a luxury feeling compared to the manual levers described above. However, these individual actuators and the associated mechanisms to effect the releases are complicated and high mass.